Securing funding is one of the most consequential — and misunderstood — skills a business leader or nonprofit manager can develop. Whether you're applying for a government grant, a foundation award, or exploring commercial financing options, success depends on more than a good idea: it requires a disciplined process, sharp writing, and an understanding of what funders are actually looking for. In this workshop, participants will learn a proven four-step model for developing compelling funding proposals, grounded in the analysis of real-world successful applications.
What You Will Learn
- Identify relevant sources of funding for businesses and not-for-profit organizations, including government grants, foundations, commercial loans, and angel financing
- Apply the four-step proposal development process — concept development, intelligence gathering, proposal writing, and follow-up — to your own funding goals
- Analyze the factors that distinguish successful funding applications, drawing on real examples from government and foundation grant recipients
How You Will Learn
You will join a live, online, instructor-led session that blends theory with real-world application:
- Expert-Led Workshop: Learn directly from a seasoned practitioner with hands-on experience in funding applications across business and nonprofit sectors.
- Hands-On Case Studies: Apply the four-step framework by analyzing successful real-world proposals in small-group exercises.
- Personalized Feedback: Receive tailored coaching to strengthen your own funding concepts and application approach.
Who Should Take This Course?
This course is designed for entrepreneurs, nonprofit professionals, and organizational leaders who need to secure external funding to advance their work, including:
- Small business owners and startup founders seeking government grants or alternative financing to launch or grow their ventures
- Executive directors, program managers, and development staff at nonprofits responsible for grant writing and funder relationships
- Social entrepreneurs and community organization leaders navigating both public and private funding landscapes
- New managers or team leads taking on fundraising or business development responsibilities for the first time
- Professionals at any stage who want a structured, repeatable process for approaching funding applications with greater confidence
If your organization's growth depends on external funding — and you want a clear process for securing it — this course is for you.
Why Take This Course
- BC has a rich and searchable landscape of federal and provincial funding sources Province of British Columbia, but navigating that landscape without a strategy leads to wasted effort and missed opportunities
- Most unsuccessful funding applications fail not on the strength of the idea, but on process — unclear objectives, weak evidence, or poor follow-up
- Government grants and foundation awards are competitive by design; knowing what evaluators look for is a decisive advantage
- The same core skills — identifying opportunities, building a case, writing persuasively — transfer across grant types, sectors, and funding bodies
- For nonprofits in particular, diversified and secured funding is a survival issue, not just a growth strategy
- Understanding commercial loans and angel financing alongside grants gives you a complete picture of your financing options, so you can pursue the right source for the right purpose
Instructor Bio
John Shepherd
John Shepherd participated in $3.3 million of capital projects as a board member of the Prince Rupert Airport Authority. As the Business Analyst of a Community Futures Development Corporation, he reviewed grant and loan applications for new and existing small businesses in the East Kootenay. He personally submitted nearly $1 million of successful grant applications for community projects on behalf of Rotary Clubs and other community organizations.